


Loss and Purpose

by SyraNyx



Category: Pathfinder (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Backstory, Child Abuse, Elves, Family Issues, Magic, Original Character(s), Recovery, References to Depression, Summoning, Tragedy, Underwater, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-05-08
Packaged: 2019-05-03 22:42:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14579193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SyraNyx/pseuds/SyraNyx
Summary: Ilia Mercuriasti is an aquatic elf who takes residence in an ocean city deep beneath the waves of Golarion's seas. The brief story of her relatively short life up until this stage has been fraught with misfortune and pain. However, destiny and fate draw fickle lines for the likes of mortals to follow as best they can. One's life can find meaning and direction no matter the circumstances.So long as you don't give up entirely.





	Loss and Purpose

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LadamaB](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadamaB/gifts).



Tragedies at sea. 

 

There are so many of them within every month, year, and decade. Capsized ships in uncontrollable storms. Hunted creatures of the deep releasing their hatred and fear on their pursuers, thereby turning the tables and becoming the hunters. Invaders and defenders of nations waging war on the open waters rather than on the lands they “own”, catching innocent beings in the crossfire. Calamity could strike at any moment and could manifest in multitudinous forms. 

 

Very few consider the consequences all of these things have on those that live deep beneath the currents carrying their boats; the very currents that bring to them their prey and their downfall. And even fewer recognize that entire societies far beyond the reaches of their air-dependent bodies struggle in similar if not identical ways.

 

Ilia Mercuriasti knew it of it all. She was no stranger to tragedy, both personal and observed. 

 

As an elven child of an aquatic city far beyond the reaches of any shore she had already lived twice the span of time that a typical human would; a drop in the proverbial bucket to an elder of her own kind. 153 years constituted a robust childhood in the eyes of an elf from the previous age. Yet that was more than enough time to encounter the soul-crushing weight of reality. 

 

By the tender age of 33, her mind slowly experiencing the joys of childhood play and friendship, her elder sister had turned her back on the family. Kurinn departed in the dead of night, swimming to some far-off place in search of what made her volatile magic so different than the rigorous studies of their family, never to be heard from again. A century separated the two but that had been the only sibling she had known and one of few friends. 

 

Her 45th year brought with it more than the loss of a friend, though she gained an irreplaceable companion that served to make this wound sting that much worse. While Kurinn had struggled with containing the eldritch power flowing through her very veins, Ilia’s essence had pulled from the plane from which their very home originated, manifesting a unique creature of the deep that permanently melded its form to hers when called. It obeyed her whims while maintaining its own mind, forging a strange master and servant bond with a tinge of partnership. Such a power, however, came at the cost of branding her an abomination in the eyes of her mother Illyasviel. She left much in the same manner as her first daughter, explosively denying her maternal duty and abandoning her husband when he chose to try and understand his remaining progeny’s unique gift. 

 

Calamity next struck just prior to Ilia’s 67th year, her very home and city falling under siege by hostile merfolk. They wished to claim the city in the name of their mistress and their gods, taking from the ancient magic steeped into the structures and the land that the elves called their own. Several months of harsh fighting ensued as her people fought back, eventually driving their enemies back to the mysterious caverns from whence they came. Many lives were lost in the interim, among them those few other children and families that she had known through her life thus far, compounding the loss she already endured.

 

Nerevin endeavored to do all he could to help Ilia cope, utilizing his considerable library of knowledge in the arcane to discover what she had become and what she could be capable of, hoping that she could grow confident in her abilities and use them to enrich her life once more. By 84 he had learned much: not only could Ilia summon this creature that she gifted the name Osuul, she could manipulate its form almost at will, encouraging its growth into a serpentine being of great strength. It came to possess a sleek body of midnight black scales, a fearsome triangular head filled with rows upon rows of teeth with which to cut through the ocean and enemies alike, and even clawed arms and hands that could manipulate its surroundings as well as Ilia’s own. The teenage elf could even instinctively call for the aid of other creatures besides Osuul, conjuring numerous gateways to bring willing minions to her side with a supernatural ease that baffled her father. 

 

All of these things captivated his inquisitive mind while the loss of everyone he loved but this alien creature tortured his dreams, driving him to drink and other hedonistic pleasures when he wasn’t studying. With time these things took a toll on his brilliance, warping it into a twisted cruelty that forever changed Ilia’s visage and her ability to trust. 

 

On the eve of her 85th birthday Nerevin took it upon himself to bind her in her sleep, attempting to treat her as his live dissection experiment. He intended to discover what it was in her body that allowed her to instinctively speak the words of power needed to fuel her magic by physically slicing her jaw open, bit by bit. Escape was granted to her by a brief lapse in the man’s concentration, insanity weakening the bonds of his magical restraints just enough for her to scream for help. The quick intervention of the city’s nearest militia men saved her life but left her with a series of hatchmark scars lining her jawline, almost a physical mark on her soul as clear as it stood out on her body. 

 

Several months of imprisonment later saw Nerevin sentenced to death for the cruelty inflicted on his daughter, his mind too far gone for any sort of healing that could be provided. Ilia was adamant that he never receive it in the first place, her heart hardened by the experience; yet she still wept when he was privately executed, seeing a glimmer of something in his eyes at the last second that reminded her of the dutiful father he’d been until that breaking point. 

 

20 years later found Ilia at the lowest point she thought she could reach. She pored through the knowledge her father left behind as well as that of the local records, obsessively learning all that she could in an effort to find a place for herself in the world that might set her apart from the family that abandoned her. In those decades she found little beyond a marginal talent for singing and a penchant for finding young men that might spoil her and provide a little more than her meager inheritance could. That wasn’t enough to fulfill though, leaving her with an empty feeling in her chest that her only true friend Osuul couldn’t even begin to fathom with his otherworldly view of her reality. 

 

Desperation for satisfaction and validation soon drove her to seek more than just knowledge though. Her 108th year found her at the bottom of a hidden cave system between her own city and another several leagues away, her unconscious form having sunk down after the small caravan she joined was scattered by vengeful merfolk on the hunt for elven blood. She had been lost amongst the chaos, suffering a blow to the head and miraculously falling through an almost unnoticeable gap in a coral reef. Blood filled the water above her, clouding her disappearance while the strangers she had chosen to travel with suffered the painful deaths of innocents caught in the crossfire of an ancient grudge.

_ Okay… I feel especially weightless… I must be asleep. Does that make the merpeople a dream? Must be. I know they aren’t exactly friendly but I didn’t think they’d tear apart random passerby like that…  _

 

Sudden adrenaline and fear surged through Ilia’s frame, waking her in an instant. She drew in water at a rapid pace, her gills working at a feverish pace and her eyes wide in the belief that her body was in mortal danger from a jagged lance coated in blood. No matter how she cast about though she saw nothing in the dark abyss she had fallen into. Flailing hands met rough stone a few times, pain flaring as she bumped around in the blackness searching for something to ground herself. It wasn’t until she happened upon a loose stone the size of her fist that an idea came to in a glorious rush. 

 

With a whisper of magic on her lips and a motion of her fingers the stone began to emit light by which she could see, forcing the images of danger from her mind’s eye and calming her beating heart need for flight. Now she could take stock of herself, seeing the scrapes and bruises across her arms and legs from falling down the shaft in the rock that could vaguely be made out above her head. The back of her head was certainly rather tender, a quick touch to her long, green-black hair confirming that there was no blood, just a painful bump. Thankfully, through her entire rough journey down her, her bag of essentials had remained strapped to her back, providing her with some food and the magic wand she kept for personal defense, enchanted to deter enemies with bolts of pure force. 

 

A quick look at the small cavern she was resting in assured her that she was in no imminent danger, stone walls holding nothing of interest. Or anything at all really. It gave her pause as she wondered how she had managed to fall to safety so perfectly, breathing deep while considering her options. 

 

_ First off, I don’t actually know how long I’ve been here. Could be a few minutes or a few hours. I’m not that hungry so I’m assuming something closer to the former. If that’s the case then I probably don’t want to go back up yet. It’s not a straight shot up so I shouldn’t have to worry about something spotting me. I think.  _

 

_ How long should I stay then? I guess I have enough food to last me a good day or two… It’s not like I would stand a chance against a whole troop of armed merpeople so I should probably stay as long as possible… _

 

Seafoam green eyes idly scanned their boring surroundings while she mused, drawing a sigh from pale lips when they found nothing of note again. If she was safe and secure, only needing to wait an indeterminate amount of time before she could return home, it would at least be nice if there were something to occupy her-

 

Her lazy, roaming gaze suddenly homed in with laser focus as she caught a detail she had missed in her first few passes over the wall a few feet in front of her. The lit stone she held in her hand was casting shadows where they shouldn’t exist, clueing her in to the fact that there were two walls: one closer and on the left while the other was further back and to the right… That meant there was a passage.

 

Lithe feet kicked her off from her spot on the floor of this small cavern, taking off down this hallway of sorts with light in hand, wondering what could possibly be down here. Maybe it was only another small pocket in an equally small space. If that were the case then she could feel suitably ridiculous and return to her original spot to wait until she felt safe to leave. But if not…

 

Curiosity was rewarded in this instance though, the passage continuing past where she could initially see and taking a winding course away from that little room. It now held the feeling of an antechamber in her mind, leaving her to envision this new area as the main hall. And quite a main hall it was. She had to swim at a good pace for several long minutes, the twists and turns gradually falling away and evening out into a straight, manufactured walkway. Her light could only extend so far ahead of her but on the walls she soon spied sconces that must have once held light sources that would lead the way through here, surrounding by runic markings that bore no similarity to anything she had seen in any of her city’s ancient tomes. Excitement mounted, drumming a beat against her bosom and pushing her hands and feet to propel her faster towards this incredible, unexpected discovery. All thoughts of previous worries and dangers quickly fell away, entirely forgotten when the passage abruptly ended in a door.

 

This portal was a full circle in the wall, easily twice the width of her arms spread wide. More runes circled its outer ring, spiraling towards a pearlescent orb in the center that begged to be touched. She would normally curb herself and examine such a unique find more carefully for danger but there was a feeling of giddy wonder that pressed her hands to the sphere without hesitation, realization only dawning on her face when it flashed a brilliant white into her eyes, a wave of force blasting her back down the hall.

 

_ Oh shit. _

 

She could only curse herself for abandoning reason in such conditions; there was no shortage of stories of adventurers discovering strange artifacts in the lost portions of the world and bringing calamity on themselves by carelessly touching things.

 

Shock tore through her body again as a rumbling took over the hall she floated in, words in an unknown tongue and from an unknown source washing over her as if shouted from the lungs of a giant. They seemed to emanate from the door itself and the orb in its center, accosting her in some way while the object in question shone brightly enough to hurt her eyes. Enough detail could be gleaned beyond the glow however that she could see the water near it twisting and rippling in a way that was intimately familiar to one such as herself.

 

_ Oh no. It’s summoning something. _

 

“Osuul!” Ilia’s voice came unbidden in a strangled shout, forcibly tugging on the connection between herself and her companion to draw his essence from his own plane down to hers. She could feel the taxing strain of calling on him so forcefully in her tensing shoulders but a primal instinct of self-preservation told her that there was no time to go through the lengthy process of reaching out to him the proper way. 

 

She watched as Osuul’s familiar black claws covered her hands, the rest of her body soon following as he materialized in a matter of seconds. His serpentine body protected her like a suit of impenetrable armor, covering her entire frame and extending beyond, nearly 10 feet of powerful muscle and alien intent. Whatever was about to appear in front of them would still be able to faintly see the elven woman in his center but it would be like viewing someone through a dark shimmer in the air, transparent yet foggy and unclear at the same time. 

 

**_Ilia. What is this you have called me for._ **

 

As always, Osuul spoke in a voice that was as much his as it was hers, utilizing both of their bodies in concert to achieve a strange duality that combined her high tones with his deep rumble. Questions were almost an impossible thing to draw from him; his way of seeking knowledge was more in imperiously commanding the truth to be told to him.

 

_ I didn’t mean to do it, Osuul! I forgot myself and touched that orb there! I panicked because I saw that it was starting to call something here! _

 

The two of them observed at that moment, one with trepidation and the other with baleful indifference, as the vortex of water and light began to coalesce into an amorphous mass with twin pinpricks of shadow indicating eyes. It was as if the water had gained a separate body and sentience outside of the liquid in which they swam, the only indicator of separation being that strange gaze and a slight shimmer of movement. 

 

**_An elemental. You incurred the wrath of one from my own plane. Intriguing._ **

 

_ Hardly intriguing, Osuul. I can feel it getting ready to strike. It’s defending that door, I just know it. _

 

What instinct it was that gave Ilia that knowledge she couldn’t say but she was entirely certain of it, her fear giving way to resolve fueled by having an understanding of what she was observing. Knowledge was most certainly the path to triumphing over fear. Now she needed to triumph over this being with Osuul’s help. 

 

**_Then we fight._ **

 

Osuul’s voice gave way to a bestial roar matched only by the wordless rumble of primal rage the elemental replied with, the two entities surging forward to clash with such power that the walls around them shuddered in fear. While the elemental was composed of the water they existed in it seemed to hold a body as solid as Osuul’s, using it to try and batter him into submission, raining powerful strikes on his hardened scales. Under Ilia’s instruction he began to weather the blows, returning his own by taking his gaping maw to its form and seeming to tear off entire chunks of it that returned to their original, harmless state when removed from the intelligent mass before them. While this was neither a well-thought out tactic nor an ideal one Ilia recognized that this was all they could hope to do when faced with a maddened elemental in such small confines.

 

It was impossible for her to tell if they were winning this fight despite her objective position in Osuul’s body, her eyes unable to glean an advantage they possessed or any weakness on their opponents part while she helped direct their attacks to what she could only hope was some sort of vital area. Her ears however began to gather more than just indistinct sounds of rage as the frenetic seconds dragged on, detecting strains of coherent communication within the anger. Creatures of the elemental planes possessed their own language and this one, when it wasn’t crying out to retaliate against Osuul’s own war sounds, screamed of emotions that resounded painfully with Ilia’s heart. Abandonment. Betrayal. Loss. They were slowly tearing this creature to pieces and it seemed that was not the worst of its pain. 

 

Yet mental anguish was giving way to physical as the battle persisted, Osuul triumphantly decrying his opponent as he claimed the stronger position, finding that he was landing more blows than the other. Victory belonged to himself and Ilia. But, as the elemental began to completely halt its movement he realized that he was the only one that felt the success of this trial.

 

Ilia could feel a ringing numbness as she watched the vibrant life of the elemental’s gaze slowly fade, tears coming pointlessly to her eyes. Whoever had bound this creature to this place had done so such a long time ago that it could have only been driven to madness she surmised. While not social like mortals and other living beings, elementals were not meant to be confined and forced into servitude. They were intended to simply exist, fueling the natural balance of the world and the cosmos. So she wept in this instance, speaking quiet words that it may not even understand in its dying moments. The least she could do though was use what knowledge she did have to speak in words that it could potentially understand.

 

_ I’m sorry… _

 

Long minutes passed after Osuul and Ilia were the only ones remaining in the tunnel, left to examine the lightless orb in the door they faced. The elven woman’s companion remained silent through this time, though it was less because of any consideration and more because he saw no reason to comment on her strange, complex emotions. Dispassionate and uncaring as he was Ilia still appreciated him for what he offered though. She always had an objective means through which to view the world with him at her side, tempering her emotions and helping her recover her composure.

 

_ Let’s break that door down. I want to see what’s beyond. _

 

**_Then break it we shall._ **

 

Refreshed and prepared for any new challenges, the two of them braced for an impact with the circular portal, charging forward with a vigorous roar and smashing through the stone. And beyond that? A discovery that, in an earth-shattering instant, gave Ilia the knowledge of what it was that would fulfill her life and prove to herself that she could surpass the family that had forsaken her.

 

_ Ruins. They’re ancient! These must be older than my city by centuries, if not millenia! THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!! _

 

**_And the discovery will be attributed to you. Congratulations, Ilia._ **

 

_ To us, Osuul. To us. _

**Author's Note:**

> This short character biography is meant for a character I am playing in a custom Pathfinder campaign run by my lovely spouse LadamaB. Sharing her story can be an experience of entertainment or one to draw a small lesson from depending on how you would like to see it. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy :)


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